Community acquired pneumonia is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States affecting over 1 million individuals costing the government over $10 billion in treatment and patient care (Stanton, 2002). Statistics given by the US Department of Health and Human Services (2002) show that minorities are 3 to 10 times more likely to be affected than Caucasians, the elderly are 60 percent more likely to be affected than the general population and 1 million hospital discharges per year are attributed to community-acquired pneumonia.
[...] The Agency for Healthcare Research Quality funded the development of the Pneumonia Severity Index to help physicians ‘determine whether CAP patients should be treated at home or in a hospital' (Stanton, 2002). Physicians are advised to use two steps: first, doing an initial history and physical examination using factors such as age, gender, presence of other illnesses and abnormal physical examination findings. Inquiry on tumor history, heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, renal disease, and liver disease is made. physician also determines if the patient has altered mental status, a pulse rate greater or equal to 125 beats per minute, a respiratory rate greater than or equal to 30 breaths per minute, systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg, and temperature less than C or greater than or equal to C' (Stanton, 2002). [...]
[...] Conclusion The early treatment of community-acquired pneumonia is the best form of treatment there is. CAP occurring regularly during winter or early spring should give individuals time to prepare for epidemics in schools or within a tight community. The government has developed policies that directly address CAP as a health threat to Americans. Although I would suggest more research conducted to better improvement of antibiotic research. The US, being very dependent on drugs has developed a dangerous immunity to penicillin and other commonly used antibiotics. [...]
[...] Even with antibiotic therapy, complications can arise from community- acquired pneumonia such as sepsis (usually occurring in bacterial pneumonia), respiratory failure, pleural effusion and emphysema and abscesses within the lung cavity. Supportive therapy in these instances includes oxygen and respiratory treatments to remove secretions or in case of abscesses, further treatment with antibiotics or drained surgically by a surgeon or radiologist (ibid). VII. Health Policy Issues Community-acquired pneumonia is fast-becoming a worldwide problem. The immediate problem is its virulence and ability to pass the disease to other people within the immediate surroundings. [...]
[...] “Pneumonia”. Microsoft Encarta 2006. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation. Beers, Mark, MD, Ed. (2003). “Community-Acquired Pneumonia”. The Merck Manual of Medical Information. United States. Jones, James L. Pneumonia (2007). Retrieved from Southern Kentucky AHEC Archives March http://www.soahec.org/Links%20to%20Items/Pneumonia%20CEU.pdf Luna, Carlos M. MD, [...]
[...] Etiology Springston (1999) has stated that the most common cause of community- acquired pneumonia is bacterial in the form of streptococcus. Other causes include legionella, influenza, haemophilus, mycoplasm, Chlamydia and viruses. The bacteria legionella pneumophilia developing to pneumonia has been determined to kill as many as 7,000 Americans per year. Initially identified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 1977, following an outbreak at an American Legion Convention in the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia the year before, the bacteria caused 221 cases of pneumonia and 34 deaths occurred among the more than convention attendees (Springston, 1999). [...]
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